A & L
Arts & Letters (A&L) courses create meaningful opportunities for students to engage actively in the modes of inquiry that define a discipline. Courses are broad in scope and demonstrably liberal in nature (that is, courses that promote open inquiry from a variety of perspectives). Though some courses may focus on specialized subjects or approaches, there will be a substantial course content locating that subject in the broader context of the major issues of the discipline. Qualifying courses will not focus on teaching basic skills but will require the application or engagement of those skills through analysis and interpretation.
26547
The prolific White Earth Ojibwe writer Gerald Vizenor conceptualizes the cultural work of Indigenous literatures as “survivance,”... (read more)
26548
This course provides an introduction to the analysis of comics and graphic narratives in terms of their poetics, genres, forms, history... (read more)
26550
Bovilsky, Lara; Peppis, Paul; Saunders, Ben
ENG 304 addresses the following questions: What is a context? How do texts and history interact? We will... (read more)
26555
One could say that most comics are about the human body, in all its variations, exaggerations, erotics, poses, powers, and... (read more)
26556
This course presents a survey of American novels in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will cover a variety of styles and... (read more)
26556
This course presents a survey of American novels in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will cover a variety of styles and... (read more)
26557
“Things Fall Apart”: Revolution, Reaction and Renewal in Early Twentieth Century Culture (1895-1945)... (read more)
26664
What happens when digital tools and literature meet? What can the “digital turn” in literary studies help us to understand about... (read more)
26666
This course focuses on fictional constructions of nation in British novels of the nineteenth century. In an era embracing massive... (read more)
11692
Animation: The Enchanted Life of the Moving Image
... (read more)
12097
This course investigates how three contemporary female writers, Michelle Cliff, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Helena María Vitamontes, represent contemporary issues alienation, racism, immigration, (in)hospitality, environmental justice in diasporic contexts. Through reading Cliff, “The Dissolution of Mrs... (read more)
12098
Through this course, students develop analytical skills that will allow them to think, write, and speak intelligently about fiction.... (read more)
12099
Why do stories matter? In this class we will read novels of childhood and adolescence, both fantasy and realistic, and compare them to... (read more)
12101
War, Peace, and Hospitality in Ancient Poetry and Prose
... (read more)
12102
This course is an introduction to film and media studies and various methods of critical analysis. In this course, we will see that... (read more)
12111
This course is a survey of literature by African American authors from the 19th century into the present. We will read texts from a range of genres... (read more)
12112
As an introductory survey, this course emphasizes the formal, thematic, and cultural diversity of Latinx literature. We will read novels, poetry, short stories... (read more)
12113
In 1968, Kiowa writer N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for American literature. The award signaled for many the “... (read more)
12114
This course introduces students to the Digital Humanities (DH) — broadly defined as the use of digital tools, platforms, and critical perspectives to address... (read more)
12117
This course provides an introduction to the analysis of comics and graphic narratives in terms of their poetics, genres, forms, history, and the academic... (read more)
12124
The Rise of the Novel
How many novelists have you heard of who wrote before Jane Austen? By Austen’s day—the... (read more)
12128
This course introduces students to critical thinking about the aesthetic, historical and economic factors influencing film, media, and cultural production. The... (read more)
16424
This class explores depictions of the environment in literature with a particular emphasis on contemporary U.S. fiction and non-fiction. By attending to the... (read more)
16438
In recent years Jewish fiction and non-fiction writers have turned to the archive quest narrative to explore family secrets, confusing histories, and lost or... (read more)
16439
One could say that most comics are about the human body, in all its variations, exaggerations, erotics, poses, powers, and vulnerabilities. ... (read more)
16440
Writers and scholars of the American novel have for some time denigrated sentimentalism by affiliating it with a weak, weepy sense of femininity. But... (read more)
16933
This course is an introduction to drama, one of the major genres in literary studies. Students will read, discuss, and analyze plays... (read more)
16934
This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the formal properties of poetry in English. Through careful analysis of poems by... (read more)
16980
This course provides an introduction to the analysis of comics and graphic narratives in terms of their poetics, genres, forms, history... (read more)
41028
This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the formal properties of poetry in English. Through careful analysis of poems by major... (read more)
41030
In this class, we will carefully read sonnets and plays in order to develop the skills of close reading and analysis in order to support various interpretations of Shakespeare’s texts. These and other activities will prepare you for the course’s written work, including close readings, group ... (read more)
41036
This course studies works of film and media as representational objects that engage with communities identified by intersectional categories including sex, gender,... (read more)
41038
The novel as a newer literary genre was a powerful, even potentially dangerous force in the newly-formed American nation. One 1838... (read more)
41039
We will read four novels that span the time period from the early twentieth century to the present day, interpreting each novel in... (read more)
41040
ENG 395 provides selective survey of contemporary literature between 1945 and the present. The course incorporates works of prose,... (read more)
42453
Modern Short Stories in (Trans)national Contexts
... (read more)
42468
This course is a survey of literature by African American authors from the 19th century into the present. We will read texts... (read more)
42475
As an introductory survey, this course emphasizes the formal, thematic, and cultural diversity of Latinx literature. We will read novels, poetry, short stories, and comics, among other media, by authors from a range of identities—including Mexican American, Guatemalan American, Cuban American,... (read more)
42486
This course explores the “age” in which the legends of Arthur—and a good many other legends—came into being. In other words, this... (read more)
42488
Literature and Digital Culture offers a guided introduction to some of the new technologies that scholars use to study and make... (read more)
42523
This course is an introduction to film and media studies and various methods of critical analysis. In this course, we will see that... (read more)
42525
This course is an introduction to film and media studies and various methods of critical analysis. In this course, we will see that... (read more)
42599
Through this course, students develop analytical skills that will allow them to think, write, and speak intelligently about fiction.... (read more)
42600
Public Speaking as a Liberal Art gives students a foundation in the classical principles of Rhetoric and teaches the application of... (read more)
42601
Many of Shakespeare's early plays are romantic comedies, a genre that was and remains easy to dismiss as simplistic and idealized.... (read more)
31961
Students in ENG 104 will read and discuss a series of short story cycles by some of the America’s greatest writers of prose fiction. The short story cycle is a unique form of fiction. ... (read more)